Shell-less snail?

[exotec]

I came home after a day's excursion to several LFSs to discover what
appears to be a turbo snail sans shell. :-( I'm thinking perhaps
this is not a Good Thing. They all had their shells on when I left!
Is this one of those things snails do when we're not watching??? if
so, this particular reefkeeper is Not Amused.

Seriously though, we do have a fairly large hermit crab which has
taken quite a liking to evicting turbos and taking up residence in
their shells. In the past, however, he's eaten the previous occupant.
This time, I just see the poor snail (?) wandering about without his
shell. It was semi-dark in there, so I couldn't tell if the suspected
perpetrator has a new shell or not. I *bought* a very nice pair of
shells in a slightly larger size which have been studiously ignored
.... and now there's this naked snail.

With hermit and emerald crabs in the tank, how likely is it that this
poor thing will survive? And if that dang hermit crab is now ripping
out snails just for the sheer joy of it, would any of you care to
start a hermit-rescue operation before this one becomes sushi or a
pancake?

:(



=^..^=
.... the problem with people these days is that
they've forgotten we're really just animals.

[Matthew]

Probably you picked up a stomatella snail (AKA "Cap Snail") -- it is
unlikely that a snail could live through having a shellectomy, but the cap
snails look like your description. He'll have a little thin shell that only
covers part of his body.

Regards,
Matthew

"exotec" > wrote in message
...
>I came home after a day's excursion to several LFSs to discover what
> appears to be a turbo snail sans shell. :-( I'm thinking perhaps
> this is not a Good Thing. They all had their shells on when I left!
> Is this one of those things snails do when we're not watching??? if
> so, this particular reefkeeper is Not Amused.
>
> Seriously though, we do have a fairly large hermit crab which has
> taken quite a liking to evicting turbos and taking up residence in
> their shells. In the past, however, he's eaten the previous occupant.
> This time, I just see the poor snail (?) wandering about without his
> shell. It was semi-dark in there, so I couldn't tell if the suspected
> perpetrator has a new shell or not. I *bought* a very nice pair of
> shells in a slightly larger size which have been studiously ignored
> ... and now there's this naked snail.
>
> With hermit and emerald crabs in the tank, how likely is it that this
> poor thing will survive? And if that dang hermit crab is now ripping
> out snails just for the sheer joy of it, would any of you care to
> start a hermit-rescue operation before this one becomes sushi or a
> pancake?
>
> :(
>
>
>
> =^..^=
> ... the problem with people these days is that
> they've forgotten we're really just animals.